AFT TEACH Daily: Saturday, Jul 26, 2025

Educators rally to bring engagement and relevance back to the classroom

How do educators ensure that their classrooms are engaging and relevant to students? Speakers and panelists converged Saturday afternoon at AFT TEACH for a rousing session, led by AFT Secretary-Treasurer Fedrick Ingram, to discuss concrete solutions.

Weingarten engages members in planning the fight forward

After a wide-ranging speech during AFT TEACH in an enormous Washington, D.C, conference hall on Friday, AFT President Randi Weingarten brought her vision down to scale in a more intimate town hall with members on Saturday, appealing to them as partners in the fight―not just for public schools but for democracy. With help from other AFT leaders, she outlined the troubling challenges of creeping authoritarianism and specific ways we can fight back.

Boosting students’ civic skills through classroom discussion

To defend and strengthen democracy from misinformation, political polarization and rising authoritarianism, we need knowledgeable and engaged citizens who can communicate civilly across differences. In a Saturday morning AFT TEACH session, “Deepening Civics Skills Through Classroom Dialogue,” participants learned evidence-based classroom discussion strategies that help students critically and respectfully engage with differing opinions.

Educators learn strategies to reclaim their well-being

Educators crowded into a transformative session Saturday morning at the AFT TEACH conference: “This Is Your Brain on Stress,” led by Jen Rafferty, founder of Empowered Educator. With humor and candor, Rafferty delivered practical tools and insights aimed at helping educators reclaim control over their emotional well-being—both inside and outside the classroom.

Stand up, fight back: ‘We threw salt in their cuts and lemon in their eyes’

Two victors from Florida’s union decertification wars came to AFT TEACH to share what they know and how they won. In a power-packed session, “Surviving and Thriving: Leadership and Organizing Amid Anti-Union Attacks,” Karla Hernandez-Mats, past president of the United Teachers of Dade, and Jeffrey Garcia, a UTD political strategist, told stories of underdog teachers fighting and winning in a red state.

Breaking the code: Inside a hands-on reading foundations workshop

At AFT TEACH, a workshop on beginning reading had veteran educators decode “alien” symbols to feel novices’ frustration. Facilitators stressed explicit instruction in the alphabetic code, phonological awareness, daily practice and motivating children. And they shared fun activities—like rhymes, syllable claps, and tongue twisters—that build foundational skills. The takeaway: Reading is complex; careful, step-by-step teaching builds automaticity and ultimately facilitates comprehension.

Watch & Share

Watch the TEACH livestream.
Follow @AFTteach and #ProtectOurKids and #TEACH25 on social media.

This daily update is produced by the AFT communications department.